A Diary Told Through The Arts

Menu

The Night Diana Died (Television Thoughts: Diana and I, BBC2)

I am sure you remember where you were when Princess Diana died, right? I remember I was house sitting for a close friend, and at the same time another close friend is visiting from out of town, so we watched the coverage from the said apartment, and I remember we were morbidly amused by one of the tabloid’s headlines, which simply said ‘Diana Is Dead.’ (To this day we make fun of that)

Here we are, decades later, and everything feels like it was just yesterday. BBC2 has released a drama movie called ‘Diana and I,’ and on here they tackle how her death affected the lives of four individuals.

There’s Jack, a gay teenager, whose mother idolized Diana, and coincidentally, said mother dies same night as the Princess. There’s a South Asian woman who is in an unhappy marriage, and uses Diana’s funeral to go to London and ‘find herself,’ There’s a journalist honeymooning in Paris, and he couldn’t resist a news story while he is there, and basically abandons his new wife. The most interesting story for me is about a woman from Glasgow who goes to London trying to sell flowers to people near Buckingham Palace. Perhaps I like it because the woman is played by Tasmin Grieg, who I know from the Showtime show ‘Episodes.’

Basically, these situations write themselves, as they are all predictable and rote. I thought that even at 90 minutes the pacing seemed slow. But they are harmless, and not really the worst thing you can watch on the television. If you are a Diana fan, you will probably like it more.